Thursday, April 06, 2006

Gold Tops $600 US an Ounce

Today, U.S. benchmark gold futures for June delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division rose as high as $601.90, the highest since January 1981.Spot gold spiked to a 25-year high of $596.50 an ounce the previous day.Fund operators who invest over the short-term have been flocking into gold given the dollar's recent falls against the euro and as oil extended this week's big gains to close in on last year's record above $70 per barrel.The Weaker US$ makes gold cheaper for holders of other currencies and boosts demand for gold. Gold has traditionally been seen as a hedge against inflation and rising energy prices. On the flip side, rising energy prices and interest rates raise the costs of gold mine operators. The large gold mine operators will incur higher costs to supply gold. This squeeze on supply should lead to an expansion in supply to get back to equilibrium. This is good news for the small cap gold companies and exporation companies as smaller gold deposits become going concerns and exploration companies will be able to raise more capital to fund further exploration and mining projects. This should help the gold/copper companies like BCMetals. Over the next couple of days I plan to find some penny sock gold exporation companies to start watching so stay tuned. In addition I will be spotlighting a new stock that has hit my radar called SHEFFIELD RESOURCES LTD (CDNX:SLD.V) a tier 2 company with some potential at a price point with little exposure and some possible upside.